im still in kabulThe network is bad..beside we are told that we are not comin home this month..We are coming home by end of Jan.

my retirement is confirmed..but due to Russia..Obama said..we should wait for extra one full month

Russia is showing no signs that it intends to forgive and forget Turkey’s decision to down a Russian warplane two weeks ago.

Moscow has chosen to retaliate for the incident asymmetrically, hitting Turkish economic and military interests instead of engaging in a direct conflict with Ankara that might lead to a military confrontation with NATO.

But the Russians appear to have “gone ballistic" in their determination to wipe out Turkish influence in northern Syria and help regime forces reach Aleppo.

A stepped-up Russian bombing campaign in northwest Syria, near the strategically important city of Azaz, has primarily targeted the Turkey-backed Turkmen rebels and civilians — and the Turkish aid convoys that supply them.

The strikes are in-line with an objective Russia has had since the beginning of its air campaign in Syria — namely, to undermine Turkey’s Syria policy of bolstering rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and to prevent the Turks from establishing a "safe zone” for displaced Syrians that might hinder the regime’s efforts to take Aleppo.

That city is the second-largest in Syria and divided between government and rebel forces. The Assad regime launched a large-scale offensive to retake the city in mid-October with help from Russia and Iran.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan forces have repelled a Taliban attack on the Kandahar airport that lasted more than 24 hours and killed 50 people, mainly civilians, the Defense Ministry said Thursday.

It said the dead included 38 civilians, 10 Afghan soldiers and two police. It said the 11 "terrorists" who took part in the assault were killed, and that the fighting ended late Wednesday.

Afghan forces have struggled to roll back Taliban advances since the U.S and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of last year.

The sprawling airport, known as Kandahar Air Field, has a military and a civilian section, as well as a NATO base. There were no coalition casualties.

Also on Thursday, the head of Afghanistan's main intelligence service resigned, citing differences with President Ashraf Ghani, who assumed office a little over a year ago.

Gen. Rahmatullah Nabil said he did not agree with the president's policies in recent months, without providing further details. The four-star general had served as head of the National Directorate of Security for five years.

Ghani said in a statement that he accepted Nabil's resignation and would replace him with someone from within NDS.

The NATO member countries on Tuesday renewed their commitment of staying in Afghanistan and continuing their Resolute Support mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) and institutions.

After the meeting of foreign ministers of NATO member countries and partners, the organization’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that NATO will keep 12,000 troops, to include 7,000 from the United States, in Afghanistan through the end of 2016.

Stoltenberg said that the 12,000 troops would be stationed out of Kabul and some provinces to support the Resolute Support mission.

He added that NATO will stay in Afghanistan until there is a need and won’t allow the country become safe heavens for terrorists.

“During 2016 we will continue to keep the mission under review; and adjust it as necessary,” he said.

“Afghanistan’s security is crucially important for us. And the issue of IS {Daesh} is serious. Therefore, I am reiterating the need of NATO in Afghanistan for longer period. Additionally, Afghanistan’s security is not only important for that country but also for the region and world. We won’t allow Afghanistan become a safe heavens for terrorists,” he added.

Stoltenberg also said that Afghan forces would be financially supported till 2020.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Trying to reassure a nation on edge, President Barack Obama said Sunday the Islamic State group "cannot strike a mortal blow" against the U.S., and he warned that overreacting to the Paris attacks would play into extremists' hands. "We will destroy this terrorist organization," he vowed.

Ending a trip to Asia, Obama implored Americans not to let the specter of terror cause them to compromise their values or change the way they live.

"We do not succumb to fear," he said. "The most powerful tool we have to fight ISIL is to say that we're not afraid, to not elevate them, to somehow buy into their fantasy that they're doing something important," Obama said, using an acronym for the terrorist organization.

Since IS militants killed 130 in France nine days ago, Obama's strategy has come under repeated questioning. He dismissed the group's global prowess of IS and said, "They're a bunch of killers with good social media."

Rejecting the notion of an existential threat, Obama said IS "can't beat us on the battlefield, so they try to terrorize us into being afraid."

"I think it is absolutely vital for every country, every leader, to send a signal that the viciousness of a handful of killers does not stop the world from doing vital business," Obama said. The president and world leaders are set to gather in Paris next week for long-scheduled climate talks. The White House has insisted there will be no change in plans.

Residents inspect a damaged site from what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian …

Obama also said there was an "increasing awareness" by Russian President Vladimir Putin that IS is Moscow's gravest threat in the Middle East. IS claimed responsibility for downing a Russian passenger jet in Egypt last month with 224 on board.

Long before that, Obama had urged Putin to use Russia's air campaign in Syria to target IS, not U.S.-backed rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad, a Moscow ally. U.S officials have said Russia has started focusing some airstrikes against IS. Obama said it was not clear whether Putin could work effectively with the U.S.-led coalition.

Putin "needs to go after the people who killed Russia's citizens," Obama said. The two met last week during an economic summit in Turkey.

Nearly five years of fighting between Assad and Syrian rebels has created a vacuum that allowed IS to thrive in both Syria and Iraq. More recently, the militant group has started exporting violence outside its stronghold, radiating fears across the West. U.S officials have said IS aspires to attack America but they have played down any specific threat.

As Obama spoke in the Malaysian capital, other Western leaders were stepping up their rhetoric against IS, while the European diplomatic hub of Brussels remained under the highest threat level for the second day in a row. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the West would "annihilate Islamic State worldwide."

A policeman patrols after gunfire in the Bataclan concert hall on Nov. 13, 2015 in Paris, France. (A …

After Obama's return to Washington early Monday, he will prepare for a White House meeting with French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday, where the leaders will discuss bolstering the international coalition fighting IS. Hollande then goes to Russia for similar talks with Putin.

U.S.-led military efforts come amid parallel talks about a diplomatic solution to end Syria's civil war. The violence has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced millions, leading to a migrant crisis in Europe and intense concerns in the U.S about Obama's plan to take in thousands of Syrian refugees.

U.S lawmakers are pushing legislation to tighten screening requirements for Syrian refugees; some Republican presidential candidates want to halt their entry. In Turkey and the Philippines last week, Obama pushed back on those proposals as un-American, drawing criticism from some who said he failed to grasp Americans' post-Paris fears.

The president has since softened his tone. His administration tried to convince U.S House members that the refugee screening process was sufficient, and Obama began entertaining a U.S Senate proposal to deny visa waivers to recent visitors to Iraq and Syria. That program lets foreigners enter the U.S without visas from 38 countries for short stays.

"The American people are right to be concerned," Obama said Sunday. Still, he said there's a difference between vigilance and surrendering to fears "that lead us to abandon our values, to abandon how we live."

In this image made from video provided by Hadi Al-Abdallah, which has been verified and is consisten …

Obama's insistence that Americans not be terrorized carried echoes of the weeks and months after the Sept. 11 attacks, which brought significant changes to U.S air travel, civil liberties law and views about Muslims in the U.S Then, as in now, leaders asked Americans not to "let the terrorists win."

"Our nation was horrified, but it's not going to be terrorized," President George W. Bush declared five days after those attacks. "We're a nation that can't be cowed by evil-doers."

Obama brought up the 9/11 analogy when he answered questions at a news conference Sunday. He said the U.S had survived mass casualties before and pointed out that New York's Times Square was again filled with people — "rightly so."

"I was very proud of the fact that the fundamental nature of America and how we treated each other did not change," Obama said. "We've made some bad decisions subsequent to that attack in part based on fear, and that's why we have to be cautious."

The remembrance poppy has been used since 1920 to commemorate soldiers who have died in war. They were first used in the US to commemorate soldiers who died inWorld War I (1914–1918). Today, they are mainly used in current and former Commonwealth states to commemorate their servicemen and women who have been killed since 1914. In those states, small artificial poppies are often worn on clothing on Remembrance Day/Armistice Day (11 November) and in the weeks before it.

I know everything will be fine honey.because you never relent in your doing and God is by your side often do you know it will be real fun when we meet..?atleast we can both look into each other eye and smile.Despite all our plans , efforts and commitment..we still able to meet

You are so special a woman and i am very luck to have someone like you..very supportive a woman..your encouragment and prayers keeps me alive. considering all your efforts from the past and present.No woman ever makes me happy than you.

You are more special and well known here than any millitary wifes.I am ready with all my heart to spend the rest of my life with you